UNI students receive high scores in annual mathematics competition

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Twelve students from the University of Northern Iowa recently competed in the 63rd annual William Lowell Putnam Competition. The exam, offered to undergraduate students in the United States and Canada, is the most prestigious mathematics competition of its kind.

The UNI team placed 122nd out of the 376 participating teams. This is the highest UNI has ever placed in the competition. Four of the students posted high individual scores. James Brito, a senior computer science major from Baxter, ranked 314th out of 3,349 participants, placing him among the top 500 for the second consecutive year. Four students, including Scott Hirschman, a senior mathematics major from Kingsley; Curtis Martinek, a senior mathematics major from Cresco; Adam Hoefer, a senior mathematics major from Quasqueton; and James Mills, a senior mathematics major from Sioux Rapids, placed near the top third of all entrants.

The competition includes two three-hour sessions, consisting of six problems each. The problems are designed to be approachable by undergraduate math majors in the areas of calculus, analysis, algebra, geometry, number theory, combinatorics, linear algebra and probability.

Students participating in the competition were ___(NAME)___, a ___(CLASSIFICATION/MAJOR)___, from ___(HOMETOWN)___.

The UNI team was coached by Jason Ribando, UNI assistant professor of mathematics and Douglas Mupasiri, UNI associate professor of mathematics.

Note: To obtain a list of the students, please contact the Office of University Marketing and Public Relations at 319-273-2761.